Guest Speaker Reaction Paper
Principles of Criminology
When I began listening to guest speaker, Marie Allen, I knew all the given information on heroin was going to be very informative and important. I’ve heard many lectures on how drugs affect a person and what kind of life drugs create for someone. Although, when listening to Marie Allen, I realized that this information was going to be much different than other lectures. What I didn’t know was that the Marie Allen was truly going to put an impact on my heart and in my life.
Marie Allen presented the class with more knowledge and factual information on heroin then any website or television show could ever tell you. There were many things about heroin and heroin addiction that I have never heard before this presentation. Learning that heroin use usually begins in middle school, 7th and 8th grade, really surprised me. I couldn’t imagine seeing such a young person addicted to this awful drug. When I heard this, I remembered that I have a niece who will be starting 8th grade this year and eventually there may come a time that she is offered to try this drug. I feel that now that I know more information on heroin and addiction that I will be able to pass it onto her so if and when that time comes, she will make the right decision. I have also learned that addiction to heroin does more damage to a person than most drugs; it not only creates addicts but it paralyzes them and their lives. We learned that when a person is addicted to heroin they are not the person they use to be. These people become untrustworthy, and their physical and mental health declines terribly. The affects of heroin go deeper than the surface affecting things such as a persons weight, coordination, and heart rate. Towards the end of Marie Allen’s presentation, she informed us about many of the people who have lost their lives to heroin. It